


Forever And Always

by LillianDeLooney



Series: Makes You Wanna Sing [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Car Accidents, Crying, Death, Derek Feels, Everything Hurts, Hospitals, Hurt, Hurt Derek, Hurt Stiles, It's all just very painful, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Marriage, Memories, POV Stiles, Shotgun Wedding, Stiles Feels, Unhappy Ending, but without the pregnancy, so much crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-24 22:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3787222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillianDeLooney/pseuds/LillianDeLooney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is trying very hard not to panic when Derek doesn't come home from work. Then he gets the call from the hospital . . .</p>
<p>Basically this is just one big emotional mess of sterek feels and crying.</p>
<p>(Part of a series but can be read on its own!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever And Always

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kyaragvd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyaragvd/gifts).



> About a week ago kyaragvd asked me to write something that didn’t have a happy ending like the rest of my stories, something that would kick the reader right in the feels. I told her I’d think about, then stumbled upon an old drabble in my folders that fit her description and the rest is history.
> 
> Title and plot are based on the heart-breaking song ‘Forever and always’ by Parachute.
> 
> Now, normally I’d say something like ‘enjoy reading’, but since it’s supposed to kick you in the feels, I think I’m gonna go with ‘brace yourself’ this time . . .

Stiles would like to say that he’s one of those people who have no problem staying calm in the face of danger. Those people who keep having the ability to think rationally, who don’t jump to the worst possible conclusions their mind is able to come up with.  
  


And he is. He totally is one of those people. His dad is a cop, for crying out loud. His dad has been subtly preparing him for situations like this throughout his entire life, so it’s basically instinct to stay calm and focus. So yes, Stiles is one of those people.  
  


Yet this time, that tiny fact seems to be lost on his brain. This time, in this specific situation, it’s different.  
  


This time, it concerns Derek.  
  


Derek Hale, his boyfriend of five incredible years. The man who Stiles is sure is ‘the one’ for him, as corny as it might sound. They’re perfect for each other and no one can tell him otherwise. It was love at first sight. Well, for Stiles at least.  
  


When he and Derek first met, it had been a rainy day. Stiles had been caught in the downpour and took shelter in the first place he could find, which happened to be the coffee shop where Derek worked at the time.  
  


So he stormed inside, his clothes soaking wet and dripping all over the place, and when he had looked up after wiping the water from his eyes, Derek stood right there in front of him and handed him a towel with the most beautiful, kindest smile gracing his lips.  
  


Suffice to say that Stiles had been speechless for a while, just let Derek lead him to an empty seat and drank the offered coffee to warm himself back up. They’d talked for a ridiculously long time and from the first minute it had felt so . . . natural. There hadn’t been a moment where he felt awkward. Stiles likes to say that they were ‘meant to be’.  
  


Anyway, they went on a couple of dates after that and after about the third one they became inseparable and they’ve been a couple ever since.  
  


And in all the years after, Derek has never been as late from work as he is today. And if he was late, he’d always call. Yet Stiles hasn’t heard a single thing from him.  
  


He’s sitting at the table, his leg jiggling nervously as he watches the hours tick by. On the one hand he knows he shouldn’t be thinking the worst, that he should stay calm, but on the other hand Derek should have been home by now. The fact that he didn’t get a call or text or _anything_ from the man only makes the metaphorical weight on his chest feel heavier.  
  


He’s giving himself until the hour is up to freak out. When the hand on the living room clock is pointing at that twelve, he will allow himself to panic. So he waits a little longer, eyes darting to the driveway every once in a while, but of course there’s no one there.  
  


He sighs. He has called a couple of people already, besides Derek, but they all said they haven’t seen him. He called Derek’s work as well, but his boss told him the man has left already. So where the hell is he?  
  


He looks back to the window when suddenly his phone rings and he scrambles to pick it up, not bothering to look at the number first.  
  


“Hello?”  
  


“Stiles?” Melissa’s worried voice asks through the speaker and he briefly takes the phone away from his ear to glance at the number, then frowns when he sees she’s calling from the hospital. Why would she – ? “Honey, I’m so sorry.”  
  


He has a hard time swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat, his eyes wide and panicked as his heart attempts to beat its way through his chest.  
  


“Why are you saying that?” he croaks, voice barely audible.  
  


“I . . . You should just come, okay?” she says. “Something’s happened and . . . you should come right now.”  
  


He hangs up without another word. She didn’t need to tell him who she was talking about, he immediately knew it was Derek the second the words left her mouth. He grabs his keys and spins around, running to his car, getting in as fast as he can before screeching out of the driveway and speeding towards the hospital.  
  


His mind goes to December. He knows it’s probably a terrible idea to think about this right now, but he can’t help it, the memory of when Derek asked him – asked him to _marry_ him – flashing bright and clear before his eyes.  
  


Derek had taken him camping, out in the middle of freaking nowhere, but the place was beautiful all the same. It was just the two of them, alone with each other and their thoughts and Stiles loved every second of it. At night, they would make a campfire and look at the stars, cuddled together under a warm blanket.  
  


It was one of those nights that he proposed. Derek had bent down on one knee and then the most beautiful and sincere words had left his mouth, words that Stiles will never be able to forget:  
  


_“Stiles, I want you forever. Forever and always, just like we’ve always said. Through the good and the bad and the ugly.” He smiles, a small sigh leaving his lips. “We’ll grow old together. Forever and always._   
  


He shakes off the memory as he pulls up to the entrance to the hospital, parking haphazardly without giving a single damn.  
  


He walks right to the front desk, demanding the woman behind it brings him to his fiancé. She looks a combination between scared and annoyed and Stiles is about to lose his temper when Melissa shows up at his side, laying a gentle hand on his arm.  
  


His eyes begin to water when he catches her small, sympathetic smile, plastered on her face to calm him but he fucking knows better. His heart sinks when she pulls him into a hug and whispers: “I’m sorry sweetie.”  
  


He clings to her for a moment, willing the tears not the fall. “Just let me see him,” he begs in a broken whisper.  
  


She leads him down what feels like a million halls, a maze that’s never ending. Stiles is faintly aware that she’s telling him about what happened – something with a car-accident, he thinks – but he can barely hear her. Then she stops in front of the closed door to a room. _The_ room.  
  


He tries to keep a straight face as he walks into the room, but is unable to stop the gasp that leaves his mouth when he sees Derek. Because it’s bad, okay. He’s not a medical expert in any way, but even he can see that it’s so, _so_ bad. He makes a broken, whine-like sound at the back of his throat when Derek’s eyes land on his, because looking into them Stiles knows that Derek realizes how bad it is, too.  
  


He takes a couple of steps closer, then sits down by his bedside, taking Derek’s hand in his and probably holding it too tight. If Derek minds, he doesn’t say anything about it. He just tries to smile reassuringly and squeezes Stiles’ hand right back.  
  


“Hey,” Derek whispers.  
  


A single tear escapes his eyes as he tries to smile back, to be strong. “Hey.”  
  


They just look at each other for the longest time, until Derek takes a deep, shuddering breath and breaks the silence.  
  


“I had plans, you know?” he says softly and now he, too, is unable to keep the tears from falling. “We were going to have such a good life. We would have kids, three, maybe more if I could persuade you – ,”  
  


A choked laugh leaves Stiles’ mouth and he wipes the tears away with the sleeve of his jacket, then raises their intertwined hands and kisses Derek’s knuckles gently, trying not to break down into a million pieces in front of the man who means the world to him.  
  
  
“And we would buy that house you love on the hillside, where we would stay for the rest of our lives, where we would raise our kids together. Where we would grow old together,” Derek’s voice breaks over the last words and Stiles shushes him, cleaning the tears from Derek’s cheeks with his thumbs. He waits patiently for Derek to take a deep breath and continue:  
  


“And whether rich or for poor or for better, we’d still love each other forever and always.” Derek’s voice is barely audible anymore and Stiles bites back the sobs that threaten to escape him, wills himself to keep it together long enough for Derek to . . . well, for Derek to do whatever it is he wants to do in his last moments.  
  


Then he gets an idea and calls in Melissa, smoothing out the frown that has formed on Derek’s forehead with a wet laugh.  
  


“I need you to do something for me,” he tells Melissa when she comes back in.  
  


“Whatever you need,” she nods urgently.  
  


He takes a deep breath and looks at Derek while he speaks. “I want you to bring up the chaplain,” he says. “We can say a couple verses and . . .”  
  


Melissa nods with a watery smile. “I’ll be right back.”  
  


“Stiles,” Derek starts, but Stiles cuts him off with a gentle shush.  
  


“I want this, Derek,” he says. “Do you?”  
  


Derek just nods, biting his lip to try and get a hold of his emotions. Stiles smiles down at him, feeling in every fibre of his being that this is what he wants to do. What he _needs_ to do. He doesn’t care that it’ll make him a widower, at least he’ll be able to say that he married the man who he loves more than anything.  
  


“Hey,” Stiles says, stroking Derek’s cheek softly. “I love you.”  
  


“I love you,” Derek whispers back and Stiles can feel the truth of the words in his bones.  
  


There’s a knock on the door, but it’s not Melissa or the chaplain like Stiles is expecting. It’s the sheriff. His dad enters the room with a grim expression, his eyebrows pulling together when his eyes land on Derek. He doesn’t say anything – bless him – just walks over to Stiles’ side to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. After a second he does the same to Derek, squeezing softly.  
  


Once again the urge to cry is hard to hold back. Stiles clearly isn’t the only one who’s losing Derek, his dad is losing him just as much. The man loves Derek like another son, had welcomed him into the family almost the minute they met. Stiles had felt so lucky in that moment and he’d been so happy for Derek. The man deserves a family.  
  


Melissa comes back in with the chaplain and a pair of rings in her hand. “I borrowed them from the couple next door,” she admits sheepishly.   
  
  
The words elicit wet chuckles from pretty much every person in the room, tears falling freely once again. The chaplain says a few words Stiles doesn’t hear all that clearly, all his attention focused on the perfect man in front of him. Then it’s time for Stiles’ vows and he takes a deep breath, looks into Derek’s eyes and says:  
  
  
“I want you forever, Derek,” he starts, forgetting the rest of the people in the room and imagining it’s just the two of them. “I really do and we will be, even when you’re not actually here anymore because forever and always is our thing, you know?” he clears his throat, trying to speak around the lump constricting it.  
  


“So I will love you, through the good and the bad and the ugly, whether happy or sad or whatever, I will _always_ love you, Derek. Forever and always.”  
  


He finishes his vows, noting for the first time that the beeps on the machines Derek is hooked up to are getting slower. Too slow. He gulps and tries to hold on for a little while longer. He has to.  
  


For Derek.  
  


Derek’s voice is almost too low when he speaks, but Stiles would still know what he’s saying even if he couldn’t hear him at all.  
  


“Stiles,” he takes a deep breath, squeezing their still interlocked hands for dear life. “I love you so much. Forever and always. Please . . . please just remember that even if I’m not there, I – I’ll always love you . . .”  
  


_Forever and always._   
  


Derek’s breath – his last, Stiles realizes with dread – slowly leaves his body, until his eyes fall closed and the beeping of the machines flatlines.  
  


Stiles finally allows himself to break down.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> *hands you a tissue* . . . Please don't kill me?


End file.
